- Is my subject in a shadow?
- Is there more light behind my subject than in front of it?
- Am I close enough for flash?
Flash is a very intense white light. We've all seen those images where the flash has completely overexposed or washed out the color in a scene. Flash can destroy the light tone of a scene. If you want to capture the golden glow of leaves at sunset, fill flash should not be used. A better choice would be to use night photography basics to take advantage of a longer exposure to capture the light quality.
If your subject is a weaker light source than your flash, like a fire or hot coals, fill flash shouldn't be used. If you use fill flash with flames you will lose the definition and detail in the flames themselves. In situations such as these a reflector may be a better choice of additional light.

